Madmac

Deeply disillusioned now.

We've been in Canadavilletonburgh for six weeks and I don't have the following as promised on the telly:

1. A $100,000 pa job
2. A 4.5l V8 F150 shiny red truck
3. Two, not one, two skidoos parked out in my 5 hectare back lot
4. The grandiose view of the Rockies, majestically crowned with snow as my kitchen window view
5. A barbecue large enough to roast several endangered species at once
6. A natty selection of John Deere skip caps

..and finally, the one that's really ripped my knitting:

7. A signed autograph of Wayne Gretsky on my genuine Oilers hockey shirt.

That's it I'm going home now. I'm in a huff.

Pollyana

Mores the pity

Pollyana

Love it! So thats the stuff they promise Canadian immigrants is it, wish i'd gone there instead, not having a view of the Rockies sounds better than not having a view of Ulhuru/Ayres Rock and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, both at the same time of course.

Beaverquest

you obviously have'nt seen my channel 5 fly on the wall documentary then?
"The Beaver Hunters of Whitehorse"

jad n rich

Building it up to be something its not usually, pollyanna has explained it really well.

jad n rich

No its an ironic little comment made after reading so many I want to move to australia to get away from immigrant threads got a bit pipped off one day, and added it to signature, think it was after one of many thread about 'white' immigration, which I find amusing after all true australians are aboriginals.

Deer Hunter

I thought that was called North of 60

moneypenny20

You're the "type" of migrant I really feel sorry for. It must be an awful feeling. I can't imagine not realising how great Britain is. We moved to Aus because we could easily. Had it not been, we would not have considered leaving. Love both countries but never understood the "I hate my heritage" comments that abound because that's what it comes down to. I don't miss the UK, I was there for 45 years, I am too busy enjoying my new country. I think it comes down to where you initially settle as to whether it works or not.

With regard to Aus or Canada, I cannot imagine ever waiting four years to get a visa - nowhere can be worth that over what you already have. If you are so desperate to get away, I don't think it's the place you hate so much as internal problems which will end up going with you.

or4ngecrush

Great comment, ditto!

acer rose

Sunday mornings BBC2. Not a soap but "Yvon of the Yukon" - we have been taking notes and basing all of our research on the lives of the residents of "Upyamukluk"

Seriously, Australia is a beautiful country, Canada is a beautiful country, the UK is a beautiful country. However, the culture in each is quite different (in my limited experience), though there are also some similarities. As a serious immigrant rather than a temp expat worker (no disrespect to those using temp visas as a tool to get in quicker BTW) you should surely be looking for the place in which you can best fit and contribute the most to your new society. Whether this is through work, skills, lifestyle choices, family connections, marriage etc depends on individual circumstances.

Canada2006

To be fair, sometimes you cannot see what's under your own nose. You have to move away from the UK to see its good sides... The grass is always greener.

I don't think disliking the UK is enough of a reason to emmigrate - a move should be for positive reasons not away from negative reasons.

I say this due to my experience in emmigrating from the UK. I'm happy that I did emmigrate, I've learnt a lot from it, but if I'd have had my time again, I would have stayed in the UK and gone to London for at least a couple of years.

Today I'm planning to emmigrate again, but I'm sure the reasons are the right ones and it's a positive emmigration.

Tableland

This is not a very compelling argument. It implies that one cannot change one's mind after having digested new information. I utterly reject the childish notion that you must always stick to your first choice.

Who says we were serious about Canada? Our logic process was simple:

1. Visit family in Canada, decide it might be worth moving there.
2. Look into it and discover a 5 year wait. Not conducive to starting a family.
3. Look for other potential opportunities, and find Australia.
4. Research reveals Australia is objectively superior in terms of employment rights, annual leave, pensions, family grants, etc.
5. Decide to go to Australia based on aforementioned facts.

Everyone should be able to see the logical route we took. The illogical route would have been waiting 5 years for Canada in spite of the research we did, because (as you would have it) it was our first choice. But this is not too clever. Your specific case may have given you a false impression of holiday entitlement, but after research provincial and federal websites, reading the posts on this talkboard and others, and talking to colleagues and family in Canada, it has become abundantly clear that one can expect 10 days annual leave (15 in SK) as the norm, at least in the early part of your employment.

Not sure what your final point is getting at. I presume it's a rather splendid generalisation to the effect that people going to Australia are all moronic British chippies, etc.?? Perhaps this is your point, I can't be sure.

What I can be sure of is that one thing instrumental is our decision was where would be the best place to grow old. This is called looking ahead. Once again our researches led us to believe that Australia would be the better location. This is because we noted that Britain is not subjected to waves of Spaniards coming to retire in Kent every year, and that Canadian Snowbirds have the bizarre habit of spending every winter in Florida, until they are too old to drive of course. (Then it's back to oiling up that old snowblower). This is because old people get cold very easily, and why Canadians got so excited about the Turks & Caicos a while back because suddenly 32 million people had somewhere warm to retire to, or at least might have maybe.

So this was our logic. We think the whole process has been very intelligently thought through. It does not affect you in any way. I am sorry Australia has better working conditions than Canada and that flights to Perth and Sydney are cheaper than flights to St. Johns and Calgary. I am sorry that the Australian Government gives a $7000 grant for a first home and the Canadian Government gives nothing. I am sorry the Australian Government gives $4000 for each child you have and the Canadian Government gives nothing. I am sorry the Australians can process a visa in 8 months and the Canadians take 52 months. I am sorry people's shock absorbers freeze solid in Manitoba and not in Queensland. I am sorry Canadian unemployment is so high when Australia's is at an all-time low. I am sorry 85% of Canada's trade is entirely dependent on the United States not crapping itself and rolling over.

So this is our logic, and we feel we have made the right decision.

Almost Canadian

When did I ever say that you had made the wrong decision ?

It seems to me that what you did was sensible - looked at the options and then made the best decision for you after considering the options - which is exactly what I think everyone should do, ie made a "serious" decision not just one based on what one has heard from others.

I note that you are very sorry about alot of Canadian "issues" - I'm sorry you feel the need to apologise for them. I doubt anyone that has made a "serious" decision to relocate to Canada will be put off by what you have said, although I do accept that those that have adopted the "stick a pin in the globe and see where that gets us" decision may be swayed by what you have said.

Where did I suggest that people should decide on where to go without proper research ??

It also seems to me that, in the main, the biggest obstacle for those considering Canada to "get over" is the potential delay in having their application processed. Again, this is something that someone who was serious about going there would need to take into account. For some, this would be acceptable, for others it wouldn't. Those that are young enough may decide to go to Australia - good luck to them.

I have family in Australia and have been there on a number of occasions. It is a great place, but we decided to go to Canada

Tangram

I can see both of you guys points but Dying did say ' if you were serious...' kind of gave the impression of what Table was getting at in his repost.

Biggest hurdle for us is a lack of a degree not the wait. Australia didn't appeal to us personally for various reasons so that was that.

Again, mostly, I like the UK ( or at least where we live ), it's not like we are trying to escape from a hell hole.

Almost Canadian

That was not how I meant for it to be interpreted but I apologise to Tableland unreservedly if I was interpreted that way.

I'm not one for argument just for the sake of argument